$1000 build...main question SSD or GPU?

[mrguti]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Before these rebates,sales, & combo deals expire

BUDGET RANGE: no more than $1000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (gaming, surfing the internet, home office, audio/video...all fairly equally)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Plan on using 2 HDs (a 74GB Raptor and a 1TB WD Caviar Black), 2 optical drives, keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers from old system. Also have an Thermaltake Tsunami Case and a 500w power supply and Windows XP that I COULD use if I had too....but kind of want to upgrade all that...besides, don't think 500w is very future-proof anymore and would like OS upgrade

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg!! Is there any other?? COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Last build was in 2004 (socket 939) with upgrades in '08. This one will have to last for awhile too so upgrade path is important, so is overclock-ability

OVERCLOCKING: Yes, some; SLI or CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080 - 24"

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: You'll notice I currently have a Radeon 5770, I also have a 30GB SSD which I plan to use as my boot drive, with my Raptor holding most of my games and the Caviar Black for storage and everything else. Is this a good plan...or would I be better off forgetting about the SSD and use the money for a different GPU? Eventually I would probably add another 5770 and crossfire with this current config. Also, is the Cosair H50 worth it? I don't really want a huge air cooler, but do want to overclock, which is why I added that on. How's the RAM and PSU look? Both I chose for the good deal and decent reviews. Figure the 775watts should be good for awhile and at that price I can add 4GB more RAM later on.

That is all, any thoughts are appreciated. Here's the build (prices include shipping, rebates, discounts, etc):

Case and PSU: Thermaltake Armor A90 & Toughpower 775watt - $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.420808

CPU and Motherboard: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black & MSI 890FXA-GD70 - $306
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.398184

GPU: MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB - $188
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127490

RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

SSD and OP SYS: OCZ Vertex Turbo 30GB & Windows 7 Home 64 bit - $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.398537

COOLER: Corsair H50 - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

Total: $984

 

[banthracis]

The old Raptors actually performs worse than the cheapest good modern drives.
For a $1,000 gaming rig you're better off putting the money into a GPU.

Case
HAF 922 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

HD
Spinpoint F3 1Tb $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

GPU
5870 $351 w/ Promo Code Also has MWF2 free
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161329

RAM
Ripjaw 1600 Cas 7 $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

PSU/Optical
OCZ 700W 80+ and Liteon $89 w/ $25 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.418929

CPU/MOBO
Phenom II X4 955 and GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 $280 w/ $15 MIR and $15 gift certificate and free game
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.405957

Total: $990 Before $55 MIR and Shipping

There's a ton of rebates and a $15 gift certificate though.
Also, you could drop to a 500GB F3, but the 1 TB is a bit faster and only $15 more.

You can also get a Hyper 212 Plus HSF for $27 off amazon if you plan on more than a mild overclock.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=00Z5KCCDG7DNYWPMM91B&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

edit: Included optical in case yours isn't SATA. It's basically free anyway.

 

[mrguti]

Didn't know that about the Raptors, thanks. That build adds some interesting ideas though. The WD Caviar is from Christmas though so I probably can do without that Spinpoint right? Also, in terms of futureproofing as much as possible. Is going for a lesser CPU and Mobo going to cut some life out of the system? Only a $26 difference there so I'm wondering if it's worth it. I imagine the upgrade down the road will be a hexacore if that makes a difference. Also, aren't I better of going with the case and PSU I listed at $120 vs $154? I do like that RAM though.
SO basically you are saying: Leave the Raptor out, don't go with the watercooler or the SSD, stick with Windows XP, and instead get faster RAM and GPU?

 

[banthracis]

No difference btwn 965 and 955 if you overclock. They are the EXACT same Chip, doubt they're even binned separately as I haven't heard of a single 955 that can't hit 3.4 at stock v w/ a multiplier change. You're paying $26 for ATI to change the multiplier off the bat for you.

Spinpoint is on a 500gb platter, the old WD was 250GB platters. There's a pretty big performance difference between the 2. Not essential though.

The Case/PSU deal is actually pretty good. The HAF 922 is a better case, but it's not a big deal.

Missed part about win 7 oops. Definitely upgrade to win 7 64 bit. It's $99 OEM edition. With rebates and the case/psu change it'll put the final cost right at $1k.

The main issue here is that a 5770 simply will not be enough to game at 1920x1080. A 5850 will be enough for most games, but given that you can get a 5870 for $351 ATM, it's worth it.

 

[banthracis]

Oh, promo code to save $5 off the 1 tb Spinpoint F3 EMCYTNN25

 

[mrguti]

Aw damn...I see what you mean about the hard drives...I thought I picked out the best one at Christmas Time! Always something faster though! Ok, I'm with you on the 955 instead of the 965, but would you agree I'm better off getting the MSI 890fx board over the 790fx Gigabyte board since the final price is $285 for that combo vs $280? Or the Gigabyte 890fx with the 955 is $315...but it seems like it's just a question of brand name at that point. That might put me over $1k by a little...but it might be doable.

 

[banthracis]

the 890fx chipset is not actually a real improvement. Most of the changes are insignificant to the consumer.

The GA 790 UD4 board comes out to $250 when comboed w/ a 955.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.405957&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

Also includes a $15 MIR and $15 gift certificate, so it's an end cost of $220

The MSI + 955 combo is $305 after MIR. You can't stack the Promo code discount with the combo discount. Totally not worth the $95 price difference.

 

[mrguti]

Just for the record in case anybody else is looking into it, I think you can stack that Promo code discount with the combo discount...it shows up in the "cart" screen...although I suppose it could disappear later in the process.

I see what you are saying about the price difference now being worth it now but I'm just thinking down the road if I crossfire the x16,x16 is going to be better than the x8,x8, but admittedly I haven't done much research into what the real difference is there.

 

[bambino33]

Hum ahh, both. Sorry. You don't want a speed boat with a titanic's boat anchor do ya? Both are needed? Just check the simple Windows review on your current PC, the lowest score is always the standard hd, thus you need an ssd. Go cheap on a graphics card, your games will studder, some just won't play right. Get both.